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Vrykul
Vrykul are a race of half-giant, barbaric humans featured in the Warcraft series. They are the progenitor race to the humans. Vrykul are independent, but some are with the Scourge. Background & Overview It is said that in ancient times the vrykul race inhabited the land, founding a vast and prosperous civilization. Suddenly, without warning or explanation, the vrykul race vanished, leaving behind only deserted villages and abandoned temples. Due to the encroachment of the Alliance settlement of Valgarde on their lands, vrykul have recently returned. Led by King Ymiron, these formidable warriors have begun attacking Horde and Alliance settlements from the fortress of Utgarde Keep, not far from Valgarde. Vrykul motives and their whereabouts for the past several thousand years remain a mystery, though they have recently become allied with the Lich King, accepting him as their "Death God". Vrykul are brutal in nature, and are served by worgs and a similarly mysterious race of proto-dragons. They practice a runic magic that even the most experienced wizards find unfamiliar. For some reason, they frown on manual labor, thinking it lowly. Vrykul children born in a certain time after their gods "abandoned" them, approximately 15,000 years ago, were "weak and ugly". King Ymiron ordered all those children to be killed, but events observed in a vision imply that not all of the parents obeyed this command, instead hiding their children in order for them to grow up far away from Northrend. This evinces that vrykul are the progenitors of humans, which is also stated by Thoralius the Wise, a draenei. A dialogue uncovered by Brann Bronzebeard in Ulduar lists the vrykul (along with the earthen and the giants) as "seed races", implying that they are direct creations of the titans as opposed to having evolved from some other race over time. The Cataclysm A group of vrykul joined the Twilight's Hammer after the Cataclysm. They are led by a tauren named Blackhorn. Mists of Pandaria Lorewalker Cho shows the adventurers their ancestors. If the adventurer was a forsaken, two vrykul appear as the adventurer's furthest ancestors, confirming humanity's evolutionary lineage. Ruben Holen in the Shrine of Two Moons mentions the pandaren having books about the vrykul but he doesn't know how they could possibly have encountered them. Appearance Vrykul appear as very large and muscular humans, usually with beards. Cairne Bloodhoof (who had never seen one in person) describes them as such: "They looked like humans—if humans were larger than tauren and sometimes had skin that was covered in ice, or made of metal or stone." Note that this is the only known official mention of "stone vrykul" that some adventurers assume to have existed at some point. Interestingly, Cairne implies that they have already been seen. He may mean that iron vrykul have some stone parts, though it is possible that this was meant to be confirmation that there were stone vrykul. Subraces * Frost vrykul - Vrykul layered in frost that serve the Lich King and Thorim. * Iron vrykul - Vrykul who are made of iron. They serve the Old Gods. * Sea vrykul - Vrykul that live on land or underwater. They are independent and covered in seaweed. * Vargul - Vrykul that are undead and serve the Lich King. * Val'kyr' - Vrykul females that are undead and ghostly.' * Stone vrykul - Vrykul who are made of stone. None have been seen by adventurers, but Cairne Bloodhoof mentions seeing some. Their allegiances are unknown. Trivia Lore * Vrykul culture seems to be related to vikings and Norse mythology. * Some vrykul are vampiric. Category:Warcraft Races Category:Races